Turn‐over of human alveolar bone removed either in the day or in the night

Chronotherapy in dentistry: A scoping review

The circadian clock modulates almost all vital aspects of our physiology and metabolism, including processes relevant to dentistry, such as healing, inflammation and nociception. Chronotherapy is an emerging field aiming to improve therapeutic efficacy and decrease adverse effects on health outcomes. This scoping review aimed to systematically map the evidence underpinning chronotherapy in dentistry and to identify gaps in knowledge. We conducted a systematic scoping search using four databases (Medline, Scopus, CINAHL and Embase). We identified 3908 target articles screened by two blinded reviewers, and only original animal and human studies investigating the chronotherapeutic use of drugs or interventions in dentistry were included. Of the 24 studies included, 19 were human studies and five were animal studies. Chrono-radiotherapy and chrono-chemotherapy reduced treatment side effects and improved therapeutic response, leading to higher survival rates in cancer patients. Animal studies reported that tooth movement and periodontal tissue response to orthodontic forces follow a diurnal rhythm that might influence bone metabolism. Profound and prolonged local anesthesia could be achieved when injected in the evening. Although the overall quality of the included studies was low, chronotherapy applications in dentistry seem to have favourable outcomes, especially in head and neck cancer treatments.

Diurnal variation in the response of the mandible to orthopedic force

Bone and cartilage metabolism is known to be more active during rest than during periods of activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis that mandibular retractive force could be more effective when applied to rats during rest. Mandibular retractive force caused a considerable reduction in the condylar length in experimental groups, and the magnitude of this reduction was greater in the Light-period (08:00-20:00) group than in the Dark-period (20:00-08:00) group. The differentiation and proliferation of chondrocytes were inhibited in animals in the Light-period group, compared with those in the Dark-period group. These results suggest that the orthopedic effects of mandibular retractive force vary depending on the time of day the force is applied, and that such force may be more effective while animals are resting than while they are active.

Diurnal variation in tooth movement in response to orthodontic force in rats

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is any difference in orthodontic tooth movement when the orthodontic force is applied at different times of the day. Twenty-four rats were divided into three experimental groups based on the time of day that maxillary expansive force was applied; i.e., the force was applied continuously throughout the entire experimental period of 21 days in animals in the whole-day group; animals in the dark-period group and the light-period group received force only during the dark period (19:00-07:00) or the light period (07:00-19:00), respectively. Maxillary expansion in the light-period group was about 2 times greater than that in the dark-period group on day 21. There was no significant difference in expansion between the light-period group and the whole-day group. An experiment that used chronologic labeling with NTA-Pb revealed that there was greater formation of new bone on the tension side in the light-period group than in the dark-period group. There was no significant difference in the width of the palate among the three groups. These results indicate that there is a diurnal variation in tooth movement in response to orthodontic external force and that the application of force during the animal's rest period may be more effective than that while it is active.